Never a dull moment when it comes to speaking out for wildlife and especially this environmentally rich little swath of land in Ashburn where the Great Blue Heron Rookery sits. First it was the baseball stadium, now radio towers…..

You may have seen the piece in the newspapers about this controversial application that was submitted to our Loudoun County Planning commission. Here’s a link at Leesburg Today that includes the story and some of the points made by Mike Friedman, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy Board member, as he spoke before the Planning Commission at their input session.

In addition to speaking at the input session, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, working with our partners in the Loudoun County Preservation and Conservation Commission, has submitted a formal letter opposing the towers. We will continue to keep on top of this issue to protect the Great Blue Herons and their habitat.

The key points on our position are below:

  1. The proposed construction will require ground disturbing activities with the major floodplain and the clearing of approximately two-acres of existing forest cover. The preservation of the riparian forests and vegetated areas surrounding stream corridors provides the greatest single protection of water quality. The environmental polices of the Revised General Plan do not support the location of the proposed radio towers within a floodplain or the removal of forest cover. The Board of Supervisors has made the improvement of water quality in Loudoun’s rivers as a high priority and is currently considering the adoption of the Chesapeake Bay Option One regulations which clearly would not support this application.
  2. The Great Blue Heron rookery extends for 150 feet along the Broad Run. The proposed location for the Towers is far inside of the 700 foot buffer needed. Great Blue Herons will abandon their nests if human activity occurs close to the nests. The preservation of important bird habitats is supported in the Revised General Plan. In addition, the noise from the required backup generator will disturb the Great Blue Herons and the storage of fuel in the floodplain presents an environmental risk.
  3. The State Threatened Wood Turtle (as included in the Virginia Wildlife Action Plan) has been documented approximately 2.3 miles from this project. The wood turtle habitat was in close proximity to Cabin Branch, which is a tributary to the Broad Run upstream from this project. Wood turtles typically remain in moist areas within 300-600 feet of a stream. However, wood turtles have been known to travel several kilometers from the stream in which they hibernate. It is possible that wood turtles could reach the area of the proposed radio towers.

Finally, we are disappointed that Loudoun Water has agreed to allow this proposal on their property. Loudoun Water has always been a responsible steward of the environment on their land and in their operations. We find it surprising that Loudoun Water has agreed to this proposal and would hope they might reconsider.